Landing gear for aeroplanes



April 1, 1924. 1,488,572

G. B. VROOM LANDING GEAR FOR AERdPLANES Filed De 21. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 1 1924;

G. B. VROOM LANDING GEAR FOR AEROPLANES Filed Dec. 21 1921 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 1, 1924.

UNITED sT GUYSI-BERT B. vnoom, or PHIL DELPHIA; rmmsvnvm LANDING GEAR FOR AEROPLAN'ES.

Application filed December21, 1921, Serial No. 523,943.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GUYsBnn'T B. VRooM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Landing Gears for Aeroplanes, of which the followgeneral character of extreme simp1icity,*re-

liability and wide range of control.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above character which may be inexpensively installed upon the deck of a ship or. roof of a building and will not" materiall interfere or obstruct passage across said surface.

In order that a clearer perception of the invention may be had it may be stated that the aeroplane is preferably provided with a hook or other engaging means adapt- I ed to coact with a rope stretched .acrossits' views showing path of travel, said rope having certain retarding means associated therewith whereupon it will permit a movement of the aeroplane with a gradually retarding action v Reference is made to the accompanying sheets of drawings showing one'of various possible modifications in a semi-diagrammatic manner and in these drawings,

Figure 1 s .a cross-sectional view of a deck of a ship, for example, showingsu'ch parts of the apparatus as are necessary to fully understand the same.

Figure 2 isa plan view of the apparatus shown inFigure 1 with the deck removed.

Figures 3 and 4 are detail views. Figure 5 is an elevational view showing the manner in which the retarding means is engaged by the aeroplanes.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic the operation of the appa rat-us. I Referring to these drawings in detail, a cable 10 is stretched between two sliding blocks 11 as shown in detail in Figure 3, which cable is adapted to be engaged by a hook 12 secured to the fuselage of the machine as by means of a rod 13 pivoted at 14: and provided with actuating-means 15 mum wear and bending stress.

whereby it may. be raised and lowered as desired. The hook is so attached that the pull will come at or near the center of gravity of the plane. I

The sliding blocks 11 are free to move in a track or guide 16 and can move only in a straight line across the deck, for example, or transverse to the movement of the plane. The blocks are held rigid except for this freedom of movement described and they may slide in guides or be mounted on rollers as desired. The cable 10 supported by v the sliding blocks passes through. sheaves 17 which are mounted in' the blocks in order that the cable after being engaged by the .plane" may move freely and with mini- The .inside of the block is preferably machined and polished so that the bearing surface 18 shall be a surface of revolution and of (such curvature that the least radius shall be 1.5 of the minimum radius of the shaft 17 allowed for the cable specified in the given apparatus.

' After passing through the blocks the ends I of the cable are taken independently by means of two fair lead sheaves to a drum 21 and so secured that each part of the cable will, when strain is put upon the system, tend to turn the drum in the same directionand with equal force.

The drum 21 is preferably of such diameter that both parts of the cable shall be able to pay out to a distance in which it is proposed to stop the 'plane with an additional allowance for emergency, that is, if it is proposed to stop aplane within a dis tance of 125 feet each part of the cable must have at least seven turns on a drum of six 'feet diameter, the drum to be so designed that its moment of inertia shall be approximately 25% of the total retarding pull. This drum should be of light rigida construction and the grooves to be of sufficient depth to insure against riding turns. The drum 21 is provided with a shaft 22 carrying a smaller drum 23, the ratio of the two diameters of the drums being such as to reduce the travel of a pneumatic piston 24 mounted in a cylinder 25 and connected by rod 26 supported by trackway 27. The pneumatic cylinder is t at part of the ap aratus which supplies the 1118.101 retarding orce. As the piston travels outward toward the drums the der and valve. The required pressure varies 30 having an actuating rod 31 provided with according to the weight, initial velocity and desired limit of travel of the plane between initial velocity and rest. The loading of the valve is done by theoperator at the control station and preferably comprises a segment a toggle connection 32 carrying a weight 33 slidably mounted upon the rod 34 connected with the valve, thus by raising the member 31 the weight 33 will be movedoutwardly.

to dotted line position and thereby necessitate an increased pressure in order to open the valve. There is also provided a second pipeline 35 and actuating valve 36 connected with any suitable source of supply of compressed air IO-adapted toaid in restoring the parts to normal position. The operation of the present system is substantially as follows v The plane is traveling in the direction of the arrows shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, whereupon the hook 12 engages the cable 10 and asthe plane continues its travel the cable equalizes itself around the hook and the blocks 11 movetogether immediately in the wake of the plane thus the retarding force acts in a direction opposite to'the direction of travel of. the plane. as the plane continues, stress is put upon the wholes stem. The two parts of the cable between the locks and the plane are of equal length and thus divide the stress. The full stress, however, is placed upon the drum 21 because each part of the cable. goes independently to the rum.- There is no shock to the plane because the initial stress is that required to maximum pressure move the blocks only against friction inertia and counter-balance weights and to overcome the, inertia of this system particularly increasing'pressure in the cylinder to the determined by the relief valve loading. E

When the plane has come to restall pressure in the cylinder is relieved. The plane is disengaged from the cable and-the system brought back to readiness for action by the operator on opening the valve 36. The counter-balance weights of the sliding blocks laid in bringing these to initial position.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides a simple and ractical apparatus particularly adapted oruse in stopping aeroplanes within a predetermined area. The device may be inexpensively manwill so fully reveal the gaged by an aeroplane having a hook, tracks neeaera ufactured and installed, is exceedingly reliable, .ecient and durable in use and operation. r

Without further analysis, the foregoing ist of this invention that others can by appIying current knowledge readily adapt itfor various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims. I

What I claim is 1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, sliding blocks, a

said retarding means including counterweights and a cylinderand piston connected with the cable whereby fluid means within the cylinder -is compressed as the cable is tensioned. i

3.- In a sliding apparatus of the character described, in combination, sliding blocks, a

track therefor, a cable between said blocks cable between said blocks adapted to be en-- along which said blocks are adapted to slide as the cable ist'ensioned whereby they automatically come to a position behind the plane,- means associated with the cable whereby the stresses therein are equalized and a retarding force applied to the plane in a direction opposite to its travel thereby preventing any component tending to slue the plane to one side or the other.

4.. In a sliding apparatus of the character described, incombination, sliding blocks, a cable stretched therebetween adapted to be engaged by an aeroplane having a hook, a cylinder and piston connected with the cable whereby the fluid means'within the cylinder is compressed as the cable is tensioned and a reliefvalve for the fluid means.

5. In a sliding apparatus of the character described, in combination, sliding blocks, a cable between said blocks adapted to be engaged by an aeroplane having a hook, tracks along which said blocks are adapted to slide as the cable is tensioned whereby they automatically come to a position behind the plane, means associated with the cable whereby the stresses therein are equalized by a retarding force applied to the plane in a direction opposite to its travel thereby preventing any'component tending to slue the plane to one slde or the other, acylinder me matically come having a relief valve connected with said cable, and means for varying the load on said relief valve whereby the pressure in the cylinder is released as desired.

6. In a sliding apparatus of the character described, in combination, sliding blocks, a cable between said blocks adapted to be engaged by an aeroplane having a hook, tracks along which said blocks are adapted to slide as the cable is tensioned whereby they autoto a position behind the plane, means associated with the. cable whereby the stresses therein are equalized, a retarding force applied to the plane in a direction opposite to its travel thereby preventing any component tending to slue the plane to one side or the ot er, a cylinder having a relief valve connected with said cable, means for varying the load on said relief valve whereby the pressure in the cylinder'is released as desired and-means as sociated with said cylinder for restoring the cylinder to normal position.'

7 In a sliding apparatus of the character described, in combination, sliding blocks, a cable therebetween adapted to be engaged by an aeroplane,"a drum to which said cables are attached, a second drum on the same axis of said first drum, a cylinder and piston and means connecting said piston with said second drum whereby the piston is moved as the drum rotates to compress the fluid means within said cylinder.

8. In a sliding apparatus of the character described, in combination, sliding blocks, a

cable therebetween adapted to be engaged by a an aeroplane, a drum to which said cables are attached, a second drum on the same axis of said first drum, a cylinder and piston, means connecting said piston with said second drum whereby the piston is moved as the drum rotates to compress the fluid means 

